Adams F tuba

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gary
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Adams F tuba

Post by gary »

What are peoples thoughts on this horn?

Thanks
Tubameister
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Re: Adams F tuba

Post by Tubameister »

Easiest F tuba I’ve personally played. If I had the money I’d buy one in a heartbeat.
dasanchezr
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Re: Adams F tuba

Post by dasanchezr »

Try it out first, the leadpipe angle didn't really make it easy for me to use, still best F tuba I've had in my hands
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Re: Adams F tuba

Post by GeoffC_UK »

Please correct me if wrong.
I was told that when Swiss manufacturer Hirsbrunner stopped making, then Adams stepped in and bought all tooling.
http://www.hirsbrunner.com/lang/de/inst ... _Tuba.html
Someone also mentioned they got into their valve maker too (?).
If so, Adams horns have a great lineage.
I have dealt with Adams Musical store in The Netherlands and their service is first class.
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Sousaswag
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Re: Adams F tuba

Post by Sousaswag »

Really good F tubas. Yes, they are basically a Hirsbrunner Hb-10.

However, that leadpipe angle as mentioned previously is just awful for me. Miraphone does the same thing. I don't get it. Play one and decide if you can live with that. If it were me, I'd have it re-bent to a better position, which would make me sad because it will leave evidence of that modification on such a pretty tuba.

You'll probably see similar, if not the same, pitch problems as the Hirsbrunner model it replaces.

If I were to compare it to my Willson 3200, it's smaller, plays with a little more resistance down low, and has a more "F-tuba" sound to it. In other words, it's less of a contrabass tuba replacement than the Willsons are.

I personally wouldn't pay the $XX,XXX asking price for it. You can find quality F tubas for much less money. YMMV.
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gary
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Re: Adams F tuba

Post by gary »

Sousaswag, what other F tubas would you consider? Thanks
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Sousaswag
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Re: Adams F tuba

Post by Sousaswag »

Well, it depends on what you want!

I like to think about it with two different uses in mind:

1) Solo horn/High orchestral playing/Totally different sound than a BBb/CC

2) Easy to play in all registers, solo/quintet/small ensemble/Sounds sort of like a BBb/CC

Really, it comes down to what you want to do with it. For me, I want my bass tuba to be able to do a little bit of everything. I stayed away from the rotary ones due to the crap-tastic low register that I didn’t want to deal with. I want my bass tuba to be easy to play in all registers. I don’t like to change the way I play in order to play a different instrument.

That essentially eliminated all rotary F and Eb tubas. I love the way they sound on all the “standard” solo repertoire, and in the orchestra as a euphonium-ish voice. Unfortunately, they really just suck in a brass quintet, especially when the composer writes low stuff. I know how to make the low register sound good on those types of tuba. In fact, I’ve done that for several years because that’s all I had access to. But, in buying my own, I have the freedom to choose what I really like, and what I really want to play.

I don't know what your budget is, but the Adams stuff is pricey. Looking used, there aren't a whole lot of options right now, either. I have a Willson 3200 right now, but also like the MW 2250, all Willson Eb's, the B&S MRP F, and the Miraphone 1281.
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Re: Adams F tuba

Post by hubert »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSuDvGwkAEo

Just to enjoy the Adams F- Tuba in excellent hands....(And there is more of this "combination" on Youtube...).

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Re: Adams F tuba

Post by Tubameister »

Sorry to revive this topic from so long ago (it’s not like very much goes on in this forum anymore so I guess I’m not THAT sorry) but, there is one small gripe I have about this horn. The finger buttons (on the 3 I’ve played) are very smooth and convex. This caused it to feel very awkward and uncomfortable on my finger tips. This would be a very simple and quick fix and I’m sure that Adams can even supply different buttons when buying new.
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Re: Adams F tuba

Post by tubeast »

Best F-tuba I´ve played so far.
So much so that I as an amateur decided I needed one bad enough to buy a brand-new one to add to my trusted MW 46 S.
Awesome intonation which I personally think comes from wide "slots" (pitch is easy to alter without loss in sound quality).
Easy high range (tends to get a little hoarse / bland on the MW).
Superb slurring (effortless with or without valve use).
Nice sound quality with a certain "glow" to it that just happens to match my taste.

The two different lead pipes (for solo and orchestral playing) complement each other very well and to great effect.
It´s like playing two different horns, sort-of like "Norwegian Star" and "Star Light" in one horn.

Playing the same literature back-to-back with my old horn proves that the latter has been holding me back.

Ergonomics: very light-weight and easy to hold both seated and standing.
Valve slides could be arranged to be accessible more easily to folks who like to use them.
(I´m no fan of trombone-ing a tuba and don´t feel this one needs it).
I can reach the 5th valve slide just fine and that´s good enough for me.

I´m 1.94 m or 6´4" tall, with a long upper body.
Absolutely no problem holding the horn or reaching the mouthpiece.
Adjustable thumb ring might work better for me if it came with a longer main rod, but that can and will be an easy fix for the local repair person.
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gary
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Re: Adams F tuba

Post by gary »

I've been playing the Adams F since June and part of the reason it's taken me so long to review it is I can't put it down. I absolutely love it! I want to play it for everything. I played some solos at a service and I friend who's known my playing for almost 40 years said that it's the best I've ever sounded and it's fun to play. The solo lead pipe makes the horn just sizzle with life. It feels like it's resonating inside itself. In other words, even in a small practice room it still resonates. The bigger lead pipe isn't as much fun but is more appropriate for the orchestra and the trombones like it better in that situation. The big pipe also isn't as flexible. Intonation is great with very little slide movement or alternate fingering. I bought it from Keith Elder from The Brass Stop in Tulsa Ok. He was fantastic and it was very helpful dealing with a tuba player. I had talked to another dealer without the tuba experience and they just weren't as helpful. I tried two different horns and they were both great but a little different. I decided on one and then tried the other one one more time and I thought the sound had a little more life to it. Ergonomically it works for me better than my PT-10 and I'm 5'10". It's a great horn and Keith was very easy to work with.
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Re: Adams F tuba

Post by anotherjtm2 »

Tubameister wrote: Thu Aug 04, 2022 10:50 am Sorry to revive this topic from so long ago (it’s not like very much goes on in this forum anymore so I guess I’m not THAT sorry) but, there is one small gripe I have about this horn. The finger buttons (on the 3 I’ve played) are very smooth and convex. This caused it to feel very awkward and uncomfortable on my finger tips. This would be a very simple and quick fix and I’m sure that Adams can even supply different buttons when buying new.
Heh. It is pretty quiet lately.
John Morris
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